Dr. McDougall's Online Discussion Board

I have a new air fryer. I love French fries. I'm making French fries and other things in it, like Brussel sprouts, all oil-free, of course. Should I be concerned about AGEs? I'm on a roll with potatoes and weight-loss and healthy eating but now I wonder about high heat on my food!

CloverLeaf wrote:I have a new air fryer. I love French fries. I'm making French fries and other things in it, like Brussel sprouts, all oil-free, of course. Should I be concerned about AGEs? I'm on a roll with potatoes and weight-loss and healthy eating but now I wonder about high heat on my food!

I think this thread should resolve most of your questions and concerns.

Thank you for the link, Mark. That was great information. I guess I'm wondering now how many on this forum are concerned about AGEs and are they baking and air-frying potatoes and vegetables anyway, like I am?

CloverLeaf wrote:Thank you for the link, Mark. That was great information. I guess I'm wondering now how many on this forum are concerned about AGEs and are they baking and air-frying potatoes and vegetables anyway, like I am?

Hi CloverLeaf,

I am on the forum -- and totally not worried about it --- no air fryer, but baking potatoes and vegetables all the time...

Cheers,
Stephanie

Baked bread was staple of European and Middle Eastern food for thousands of years. No significant problem until the last couple of hundred years. That's when we switched from whole, coarse flours, to highly processed flours. In addition to adding sugar, oil, eggs, if we ate bread at all, in a switch to animal foods as the center of our plates. Toasted foods have also been staples of other cultures, like corn tortillas for the Aztecs.

Avoiding baked goods isn't in the guidelines. I think it's splitting hairs.

I bake bread twice a week, occasionally enjoy toast, make oven fries and roast vegetables. The benefit of eating more vegetables, and more plant foods, easily outweighs any downside. No reason not to make your food delicious.

Thanks, everyone. I'm feeling better about my air fryer now. And yes, the food is delicious this way!

I think it's likely any slight downside would be justified by it making it easier for you to eat healthy food every day, and avoid unhealthy foods I think they're great, especially for potatoes, and for tofu (for those of us who eat that...).